The skinny

Music is important to me. I don't play an instrument, but I like to listen.

At varsity in Dunedin the gigs kept me warm.

Over the years I built up my record collection, boxes and boxes of LP's, EP's and 7 inch singles, only to lose everything in a burglary.

Travel and family commitments intervened. Time passed. CD's replaced records, and records gave way to MP3's.

I miss records.

A disk crash deleted the MP3 collection, and I started again from scratch.

Starting again was difficult. I found myself buying the same music. Boring. I read music magazines to find out what I might like, but I didn't learn much. The radio wasn't much better. I visited record stores but just got lost, rows of bands I had never heard of.

I resolved to spend 12 months listening to as much music as I could; where possible avoiding bands that I knew, trying to find out what was out there, and what I liked.

By 2007 there was no shortage of music to listen to. Music blogs share the tastes of 1000's of music lovers. I joined Emusic.

To keep track I burn MixCd's, 21st Century mixtapes. The CD's catalogue my exploring. I give them to friends. Sometimes they email me back with comments and suggest other bands to listen to.

Nine years on (good grief) here is a website to share my love of music.

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Live thrash is good. Until someone thrashy comes to town worth hearing (T54 ?) this mix will have to do.

The Thermal’s new album continues their old testament crime and punishment theme. Katie Crutchfield from P.S Eliott shows why screaming in tune is so rewarding, and F***ed Up show us just how much breath you need to sing in a hard core punk band (though eclipsed by Jon Chang of Hayaino Daisuki who has an extraordinary ability to keep the screaming going).

Videos below, including, if I can get my act together, my lame effort from SXSW 2012 showing me heading into the Twilight Sad after eating too many burritos, crashing The Guards and catching a ride on a pedicab (a bike taxi) to see Built to Spill. Crank up the quality and enjoy it in hi-res.

PS, I applaud the photographer who persevered and filmed the F***ed Up clip below amid total chaos, bravo. This band I must see live.